Online marketplaces such as Amazon and Walmart offer consumers a wide variety of products that can be purchased with the click of a button. Buying through the internet has made shopping quick and easy, with products delivered right to your door.
But each year, there are consumers who are hurt by defective products they buy online. When this happens, it’s easy to be confused about what to do and who’s to blame for the injuries. When these incidents result in medical bills, missed days at work, and ongoing pain, you need to understand your legal rights and the steps to take to seek financial protection. Here, the product liability attorneys at Case Barnett Law discuss what to do when you’re injured by a product you buy online.
When You’re Injured by a Defective Product: What to Do
If you’re injured by a product you buy online, it’s crucial to get medical help immediately and then take the right actions to protect your health and your legal rights. Here, our attorneys offer guidance for what to do to help ensure you obtain fair compensation for your injuries:
File a Complaint
After the product you’ve purchased causes you harm, you should file a complaint with the marketplace where you bought it. If it was Amazon, for example, you can file this complaint in a number of ways:
- Select “Return or Replace” a specific item
- Call customer support
- Use Amazon’s online chat
- Report issues with the seller
- Use Amazon's customer service email address: [email protected]
What You Need for Your Complaint
There are things you need to create an effective complaint. The following will likely influence how quickly and effectively Amazon will respond to your problem:
Types of documentation. To make a successful complaint, you should save the following:
- order confirmations
- shipping notifications
- correspondence or live chats with customer service representatives
Photos. Be sure to give photos of damaged items, incorrect products, or packaging issues to provide visual evidence supporting your claim. Include screenshot relevant tracking information showing delivery failures or delays. This documentation creates an objective record that supports your complaint and reduces the likelihood that you'll need to repeatedly explain your situation to different representatives.
Provide important information. Be sure to include critical information, including your order number, purchase date, and an explanation of the problem. Detail what went wrong and provide verifiable facts. Be sure to clearly state the solution you're seeking, whether you want a refund, a replacement product, a credit to your account, or some other resolution. State when you’d like a response. This helps begin a timeframe of accountability.
Follow-up. If your complaint doesn’t receive a response or proper attention, follow up after a few business days.
File a Report With Consumer Protection Agencies
If Amazon fails to address a legitimate complaint, you can file a report with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) or the state’s attorney general’s office. This will create an official record of your complaint. You can also file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau (BBB), although they provide limited mediation rather than enforcement of the law. You’ll need to provide documentation of how you tried to resolve the issue directly with Amazon.
You can also contact the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Using their SaferProducts.gov website or calling their hotline, you can report about your injuries. The CPSC is a nationwide database that tracks product injuries and can initiate recalls for dangerous products if they’re warranted. Your report might reveal a pattern of similar incidents that justifies broader consumer protection measures.
Taking Legal Action
If all other complaint methods have failed, and your injuries caused significant financial loss and/or you have consistent medical issues because of the defective product, you may need to take legal action. You may want to consider any of the following:
- Small claims court. This option is for disputes involving monetary losses within your state's small claims limit. In California, you typically can only sue for up to $12,500 or up to $6,250 if you’re a business. You can ask a lawyer for advice before you go to court, but you can't have one with you in court.
- Arbitration. You may need arbitration based on Amazon's terms of service, which contain a binding arbitration clause for most disputes. This typically involves submitting your complaint to a neutral third party who will make a binding decision. While arbitration limits some traditional legal options, it often provides faster resolution than court proceedings and may still result in compensation for legitimate claims.
- Class action. If your product issue affects many Amazon customers, there may be a class action lawsuit that applies to your product incident. You might be able to join these actions with no upfront cost and may result in compensation if the case succeeds.